Germany to edge England, Messi seeks revenge over Sanchez and Chile

It's international break but at least there's some tasty looking fixtures to occupy ourselves with as we wait for domestic football to return.

Germany to edge England

All eyes will be on Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion on Wednesday as old adversaries Germany and England lock horns again. This is a fixture that has thrown up a lot of goals in recent times, and the last five international friendly matches between the teams have been won by the away side.

In March 2016, England staged a magnificent comeback in Berlin as they came from 2-0 down to win a thrilling contest 3-2, with both Jamie Vardy and Eric Dier scoring their first international goals for the Three Lions. It was a display full of promise by a youthful England team, with new boss Gareth Southgate no doubt hoping for more of the same this time round.

However with no Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge or Theo Walcott in Southgate's squad, England could struggle in Dortmund against a German side who have not conceded a goal for six matches.

Joachim Low's men are a well-drilled team with a lot of experience and are rightful favourites here. They can buck the recent trend of away wins in this fixture by claiming the spoils and the pick is to back Germany to win to nil at 2/1 with Bet365.

Messi seeks revenge for Argentina

Elsewhere it looks like Chile could be set to risk Alexis Sanchez in Thursday's crunch World Cup qualifier with Argentina despite Arsenal's fears over ankle ligament damage. Sanchez scored in the Gunners' 3-1 away defeat to West Brom but had to be substituted after failing to recover from a knock to the ankle sustained in the first half. Boss Arsene Wenger said Sanchez's ankle was in a "terrible state" following that defeat at the Hawthorns and will no doubt be unhappy with Chile's plans to use him on Thursday.

The teams have been involved in some big games against each other in recent years, including the 2015 Copa America final and again in the final of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. Chile emerged victorious in both of these matches so Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, will have revenge in mind this week when they square off at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Both teams need the points, with Argentina currently occupying a playoff spot and Edgardo Bauza's side are just one point behind the Chileans, who currently occupy the final automatic qualification slot.

The other big South American World Cup qualifier that catches the eye this week is Uruguay vs. Brazil. Uruguay, the first ever county to lift the World Cup back in 1930, are handily placed to qualify for the 2018 edition in Russia and sit second in the CONMEBOL standings having picked up 23 points from 12 matches.

Brazil are in first place, four points ahead of Uruguay after the same number of games. The five-time winners have been excellent in qualifying, losing just once but face a tough assignment against a Uruguay side who are averaging two goals a game in qualifying.

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